Honestly Deceptive
by nakala
Summary: My take on if Iris found out The Flash's identity and the confrontation that ensues. (Title may change). AU-ish


**Honestly Deceptive**

**AU where Iris finds out about The Flash's identity and it's implications in context with Barry's confessions. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

It'd been weeks since The Flash had attacked Eddie. Weeks since Eddie had mentioned Barry having a crush on her and Barry confirming her boyfriend's suspicions. At the time, neither event coincided or even held a modicum of relation. That was until some freak of the week had kidnapped her. Circumstantial. Wrong place at the wrong time, which wasn't uncommon in her world. She dated a cop, her best friend was CSI, and her father had been a cop her entire life.

Loathe as she was to admit it, she'd hoped The Flash would rescue her. The PD didn't have a winning record for rescuing victims from kidnappers.

He didn't disappoint. The noble vigilante turned thug, in her eyes, showed only a couple of hours after she'd been abducted.

The moment Iris saw the crimson streak break across her path tossing the arachnid-like metahuman away from her half cocooned from, she could have breathed a sigh of relief. She would have if the metahuman's gossamer web wasn't spun so snugly from her feet up to her bottom eyelids.

Instantly, she calmed. It wasn't something she could control. The masked vigilante had rescued her more times than she'd needed before he appeared on the scene that now it was second nature to feel anything except protected and safe in his presence.

She had to watch the two men battle it out for their lives as her very own was on the verge of escaping her. She'd only been wrapped in the silken trap for a few minutes, but the little bit of air she'd gulped down had started to strain her lungs. She could only release spurts of air at a time. This had sustained her for as long, but now, she needed oxygen not just an unload of carbon dioxide.

Her rescuer didn't know. He couldn't; he was too busy trying to avoid webs and poisoned saliva to notice Iris' eyelids slowly closing and her chest making its final fall.

Darkness possessed her and she was almost gone when she felt a brisk breeze and less than a nanosecond later, she was freed. On instinct, her lungs sucked in a throat clogging breath. All the while she coughed and fought to gather oxygen into her lungs, she could hear his voice calling her name. Through her murky consciousness, she heard _his_ voice. Not the altered almost robotic voice he'd used on the rooftop of her work. It was familiar, but she couldn't place it. Her mind was too cloudy and her chest burned. But she was a journalist, so, she couldn't rest without knowing what about his voice she recognized.

Taking control of her breathing, Iris finally answered The Flash's pleas for her to open her eyes and when she did he was closer than he'd ever been. The sun gleaming through the windows illuminated everything unlike the lights brightening a night sky. Iris saw his lips, his teeth, the way his lips moved as he cried out in desperation for her to stay with him. Lips weren't just lips and teeth weren't just teeth. They were distinct markers of one's identity, but what she thought couldn't be true. He would have told her. He wouldn't have kept this from her. Not _this._ Yet, when her eyes trailed to his, the truth was revealed. His identity was unmistakable now. She'd know those blue-gray eyes sprinkled with green and brown accents anywhere. Yes, she knew those eyes. A sense of betrayal, frustration, and even pride swelled in her in that moment, but she was too encumbered to give it more thought. The woman was banged and bruised from head to toe. All she needed was a few potent meds and maybe some oxygen. She didn't have the energy or health to worry with Barry, The Flash, or their lies.

"Iris, can you stand?"

She shook her head affirming the negative. Without further questioning, she'd felt herself lifted gently and the last thing she could focus on before everything blurred was the sadness in Barry's eyes.

Two days later, she had recovered enough to be released from the hospital. She'd wanted to leave after the one but her father refused to let her get away and brokered some kind of deal with her physician to keep her an extra day. She just wanted to get home to where things made sense.

Barry came to visit and he tried to be his normal self despite her knowledge of his feelings for her and Eddie's presence. Iris wasn't fooled. There was something behind his eyes that was more than unrequited love and jealousy. Had she gotten a moment alone with him, she might have inquired or even confronted him about his dual personality. As it were, the opportunity hadn't presented itself. It wasn't until a week after she'd left the hospital that she finally found her nerve and contacted her best friend and Central City's masked crusader.

Recovery was quick. Once she'd returned to the home she shared with Eddie, a day or so later she was back to her old self minus a few lingering sore spots. However, she'd kept herself held up in their bedroom. Eddie had thought it was trauma or residual injury; it was neither of those things. She was avoiding Barry. The Flash wouldn't seek her out. He hadn't popped up since he'd beat her boyfriend senseless. Barry would, though, just not at Eddie's. So, for days she had thought through everything she knew and what she should have known from the beginning. Iris didn't leave out anything, not even the fact that she should have known that her best friend had been in love with her for more than half his life.

During that time, some things became obnoxiously clear, she was quite absentminded when it came to anything regarding Barry, and that to be a better journalist, _everything_ about _everyone_ should be observed and noted. She would not fall victim to ignorance again. Then, when she'd ceased torturing herself over her shortcomings, she acknowledged that she needed to talk to Barry, and not just him but also the man he streaked around town as. She would have to deal with the lie between her and the man she'd grown up with before she could address the conflicting emotions she harbored for The Flash.

After what he'd done to Eddie, she'd thought her little crush on him was gone. It should have been, but it wasn't and every time she caught word of his heroics, the feelings she had for him deepened. He couldn't have purposely been the maniac that snatched a cop from her moving car. The Flash wasn't a criminal; yet, she couldn't reconcile what she'd witnessed with what she felt. Iris had to follow the evidence, which unfortunately pointed to an irrational, dangerous, powerful person. Truth, she wasn't exactly fine with accusing him without giving him a chance to explain, but she believed that offering him that chance was in some way betraying the man she loved. She had to push The Flash from her life for more reasons than the one.

Barricaded in Eddie's apartment, she had known that the other reason was that things were becoming complicated between the two of them. The Flash wasn't shy with his intentions and she liked that about him. There wasn't any guesswork, not like when she was a senior in high school and she knew that the way she viewed Barry had begun to evolve. Much like currently, she hadn't been able to see that Barry saw her the way she'd wanted him to see her for so many years, so, she'd suppressed her feelings fearing the affects they would have on her small family. She wouldn't be the reason the three of them would lose each other.

Over the years, Iris had gotten over Barry. They were best friends and that was good enough for her. Sometimes it wasn't. Then she'd fallen for her dad's partner and she knew that Barry and her as friends was the right choice for them. It wasn't like she knew about his feelings for her. Then he had to go and get hurt and almost die. It didn't change anything, not really, Barry was still only going to be her friend and she couldn't forget about her loyal, loving boyfriend. So again, she forgot about the spark in her heart for Barry Allen.

She'd mulled over all this until she couldn't sleep, and when she noticed she hadn't eaten much either, Iris decided to return to work and have a meeting with the red streak. A week to the day he'd rescued her, Iris contacted The Flash – Barry – to meet her after her first shift at their usual spot.

The second before she turned the lock on the entrance, he blew into the coffee shop cleaning the tables for her and disappearing from her sight. Composed, Iris removed her apron and followed the path he'd taken to the roof.

There he stood so far from her, hidden in the shadows. She couldn't make out his face, but she didn't need to know it was him. Now that she was actually paying attention, she could see _him_ in his stance, the way he held himself even if more confident.

He took a step toward her but stopped before his right foot followed.

"Iris." Questions colored his disguised tone.

She rolled her eyes and took a few solid steps of her own halting several feet short of his personal space. She didn't want to spook him and have him speeding all over the roof to avoid the night lights.

"I needed to talk to you – to thank you for saving my life…again."

"Anytime. I said I would always be there. That hasn't changed."

She understood what he didn't say. Yet, hearing the false timbre coming from Barry's mouth caused her to cringe, but now wasn't the time to lose her cool and call him out. However, she did want to slap him. How could he stand there as if he wasn't keeping the biggest secret from her? A secret that brought everything into perspective.

"I want an explanation. I know I didn't listen – I need you to explain to me why you hurt Eddie." Iris closed her eyes to even her breathing. "I just – you can't be – just tell me why." Tears were seeping into her eyes, but Iris wouldn't cry. She was confused and hurt and angry, but she would not cry. She wasn't the weak helpless _girl_ Barry and her dad thought she was.

His posture became more rigid, but aside from that, The Flash seemed as cool as Barry never was. "It's like I tried to tell you."

She had to be amused by the agitation woven into Barry's altered voice.

"I was affected by this metahuman he – his power tapped into something inside of me. It made me…angry. Uninhibited and progressively hostile. What happened with Eddie, I didn't have control. Anything and everything set me off. I didn't mean to do it. You have to believe me, Iris."

Though the soft spot for Barry's wellbeing over all else took a swift kick at his sincerity, giving in was not an option. She needed all the answers tonight. She would settle for nothing less. At that very second, she just wanted the truth. "Is that all it was, Barry?"

It wasn't the way she'd planned to break the news to him. No, it was much more clever, but her patience was paper thin and her emotions were everywhere.

"What?" He heard her. She knew because the hardness of his posture slacked and he popped up farther away from her.

"Stop running. I know."

"No, I'm not-"

"Don't lie to me." Iris said turning her head skyward before looking directly at the masked man out of her reach.

The tears she'd contained streamed down her face stirring her ire.

"How?" Barry croaked in his own voice.

Before The Flash could register her actions, Iris was less than a foot from him with the flashlight from her cell phone shining in his eyes.

"The day you saved me you forgot to change your voice. Forgot to hide in the shadows. When I looked into your eyes, I knew. I knew that you'd been lying to me this whole time. That…" It finally occurred to the journalist that Barry as The Flash had preyed on her feelings for Central City's hero. Used his mask to explore his feelings for her without facing the consequences.

"Iris please just hear me out."

"Oh, now you want to talk. What do you have to say that will change anything Barry?"

"I wanted to tell you."

"Sure."

"It's true, but Joe, everyone, they said it would be too risky. If you knew, it would put your life in danger."

"If you haven't noticed, I write a blog about you – bet you got a big ego boost from that – I'm in danger all the time. Just by being in this town, by dating a cop, by being around you and my dad. Barry, I've been in the middle of things that haven't had anything to do with my blog. You would know you've been there to rescue me."

"I know," he reached to touch her, but she snatched her arm away. "I'm sorry. I really am. I just thought I was doing what was best for you. I just want you to be safe."

"Don't I have a say in what's best for me? You and Dad think I'm some-some damsel in distress, but I'm not. I _can_ handle myself. I don't need you protecting me from anything."

"Really?" He bellowed. "Because I've been doing a lot of that as _The Flash_ lately and I haven't heard you complain once."

"Oh my goodness, Barry, it's not my fault I had no idea it was you under the mask."

Her words sobered him. His indignation was anything but righteous. "No it wasn't and I'm sorry about that. I am. I thought I was doing the right thing." Barry mumbled.

In the silence, she observed him examining her. She didn't back down. They were having it out and she would not cower under _his _guilt. He deserved to see her tearful gaze. She deserved more than his cloaked features.

Striding forward, Iris deliberately breeched the invisible line that always existed between them. She was impossibly close to Barry trying to peek into his eyes. For an indiscernible amount of time, she watched him watch her. They'd ended up on opposite sides and she wasn't sure she was okay with that.

Without thinking, her hand neared his face. She noticed his eyes enlarge then return to normal before closing the second her fingertips traced the contours of his mask. Curiosity led her fingers over the bridge of his nose, around his eyes, and over the helix of his ear donning the Flash insignia. Both her hands framed his face as she slid the mask back over his head.

His eyes opened to see her staring up at him with a mix of emotions burning behind her glistening stare. He wanted to say so many things but was terrified of making things worse than they already were. He couldn't believe the only woman he had ever truly loved probably hated him, and he had most likely lost her for good.

Iris stepped back away from Barry's pleading, fearful eyes and the slight charge of his proximity. This was how she should have started things. With _him_ facing her, not his alter ego.

"Now can you be honest with me?"

Barry had dropped his head examining the concrete at his feet the instant Iris had backed away from him. However, at her question, he lifted his eyes to meet hers with brows twisted in confusion. "Huh?"

"You didn't mean to attack Eddie – I can believe that – but you also said that whatever this …anomaly had done to you brought out what was inside of you. Was-was it personal? The reason." As awkward as finding out about Barry's feelings was, this was more so and possibly the hardest conversation she'd ever had. Though she envied it, candor was too bold a choice for her.

If the expression on his face was any indication, the man standing a few steps away knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You're the journalist, figure it out."

Maybe it was pride or maybe it was embarrassment but Iris was inclined to think it was a mixture of both and a whole lot of the suit igniting Barry's defiance.

She knew the answer. She'd put the pieces together those days hold up in Eddie's place. She just wanted to hear it from him. After such a display of testosterone that could have ended her boyfriend's life and definitely planted more than doubt in her heart about The Flash-_him_, he owed her the explanation she'd come for.

"Why can't you just say it?" She fumed.

There was a tirade to follow, but she found her words locked in her throat as she was backed into the wall with the crackling of static electricity tingling her skin. He surrounded her without touching her. It was suffocating feeling his energy dance along her spine and seeing the inception of anger and vestiges of hurt and rejection glaring at her through Barry's eyes.

"Would it change anything, Iris? You've known for a week and you didn't feel the need to seek me out. No, you hid behind the walls of your _new_ home. What is this really about, huh?" His voice lowered almost eerily so. She didn't know how to answer this Barry. He was too in control and imposing.

"You harass me about my dishonesty; yet, you haven't been truthful from the start. This isn't about not knowing about me being The Flash and what happened to Eddie, not entirely. This has everything to do with the fact that I took him from you two times. This time for good because he's me and not some mysterious hero you have a crush on." He shifted backward but only a little. He wasn't done yet. "I could see it in your eyes, and yeah, I got a kick out of you finally looking at me the way I've wanted you to practically my whole life. It wasn't just some unspoken attraction; you gave into it. The flirting, open admiration. It was so obvious that you had a thing for The Flash even when you were clearly taken. You indulged _him_-me, but _I_ pour my heart out to you – I wasn't looking for much I understood that you weren't free – but _for me_, you haven't said one word of acknowledgment or, I don't know, anything." Tears filled his eyes as he bared himself to the love of his life, one again.

Iris had been crying steadily through his speech. Her heart hurt and her mind was racing. What could she say to Barry after that? He was right. Not about everything but enough for her righteous indignation to dissipate and give rise to more worrisome feelings.

He pressed his thumbs into his watery eyes at a loss for words hoping that her silent state would dissolve and her journalistic nature would take over. But for longer than she wanted to, she just stood there lost.

"Look, Iris, I'm – if you have nothing to say…" He couldn't help but notice the symmetry of the situation. "I'm going to go."

At a human pace, he turned to walk away.

She couldn't let him go. Not like this.

"Barry."

He didn't turn around at her request. She waited for him to give in to her, to come to her, but he didn't. When she realized she'd thought he should have, she quickly cursed herself for her selfishness and ran to face him before he decided to super speed away.

Once she was looking up at his face, she didn't think she just reacted. She rose to the tips of her toes grabbing the back of his neck with both her hands guiding his lips to hers.

Surprised, Barry did not initially engage her. She hoped he wasn't disgusted; it wasn't as though she was trying to strangle him with her tongue; she was merely testing the waters. She pressed her lips firmly to his stagnant, yet, pleasantly soft ones. Seconds passed before she felt Barry's hands slide around her waist pulling her closer.

She'd started this, but she could feel him surrendering and seizing control. Their connection was frenzied and urgent. He held her tighter with each caress to her full lips. It was intoxicating and the young woman felt as if she was rapidly in danger of becoming inebriated the longer they were together, but she didn't stop. Instead, she slipped her tongue from her mouth to stroke his bottom lip. It wasn't a challenge, just curiosity, but he met it and upped the ante. His tongue pushed through her parted lips tasting of cool cucumber and refreshing mint. The moment his tongue touched hers, the chaotic passion disintegrated into sensual exploration and masterful deduction. Iris was floating in a sea of gentle electric currents, all warm and exciting. Time could have stood still and she wouldn't have noticed or minded. Eddie never made her feel like this.

Eddie.

Suddenly, she fell from her high and separated herself from her friend by many feet with her chest rising and falling with the labored breathing of one who'd been smothered.

Barry's breathing was normal. Unaffected. Calm.

Devastated, she opened her mouth to apologize.

He could see the remorse splattered across her beautiful face. The Flash would not give her a chance to escape what'd just transpired between them.

"Why did you do that?"

She looked up at him frantically startled. "I don't know." She didn't not with surety. It was complicated, and there was Eddie. She needed to go. Being on the roof under the moonlight and the city lights sparkling in the distance was doing things to her mind and taunting her heart. Iris spun around to flee this torture but ran into a broad red chest.

"Was it for me or…you?"

She didn't have to ponder the answer, it was just there. "Me." She breathed glancing up at him.

Barry smirked that arresting smirk of his then straightened his lips and stood taller. Commanding. "Then that's all that matters for now." Then he was gone in a red streak of current and fluttering breeze.

Iris touched her mouth, relished in the memory, and left the rooftop.

**What did you think? Leave me a review and tell me your thoughts, critiques. There may be a second part depending on the response I get. **

**Thank you for reading. **

**Don't forget to review.**

**nakala**


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